President Mary McAleese yesterday paid warm tribute to Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness as they prepare to take up the roles of first minister and deputy first minister in the North next week.
"To them is owed a lot. At the end of the day, they were the people who had to make the biggest move. And for them and to them, we wish the best and we send them our very good wishes, and I think all of us should be very grateful to them that they are willing to take this chance on one another and to have this opportunity now to allow Northern Ireland to shine."
Speaking in New York, halfway through a five-day visit to the United States, Mrs McAleese praised the "sustained, active interest" the US has showed in Ireland, North and South, and to the role successive administrations in Washington have played in advancing the peace process. She described the prospect of next week's restoration of the political institutions as "bordering on, if not actually, four-square miraculous".
At a lunch hosted by Tourism Ireland, the President said the unprecedented number of tourists crossing the Atlantic in both directions was an indication of the healthy state of ties between Ireland and the US.
Earlier, Mrs McAleese visited two Irish emigrant centres in Queens, opening a new headquarters for the Emerald Isle Immigration Center. At the nearby Aisling Emigrant Advice Center, a group of senior citizens presented her with a quilt they had knitted, representing the 32 counties.
"It's a project of love. It's not perfect. It's not meant to be. It's just an expression of gratitude," said Pat Sheehan.